What a great day and a great bypass. By 9:00 AM we were at the Butler Wash Ruins. A half mile hike over lots of slick rock and red dirt and we were at the overlook for the ruins. It would have been such a protected, concealed house for the people who built it. There was a bit of water in the bottom of their small canyon, but I'll bet it flowed a lot more back then.

After stopping at another rebuilt ruins sight we made our way to Natural Bridges National Monument. There are three natural bridges here that can be viewed from a nine mile one way drive. Of course we stopped several times to walk out or down to the viewpoint. John was very patient still. (Oh, did you know there are no entrance fees this week at the National Parks. So, get going somewhere!)

. Driving across to Glen Canyon and Lake Powell the red rock canyons were ablaze with color and design. It was another day that I just didn’t have time to look at it all. (You will notice that some of my photos, like yesterday, were taken from a moving vehicle.)

We stopped at Hite on Lake Powell to see what it was like, but it had a fee. From across the lake it was obvious how far the water has dropped. The original Hite Marina was far from the water. I’d sure love to gather my kids and get a houseboat on Lake Powell. It is enormous and surrounded by arches and magnificent scenery.

By the time we reached Hanksville the wind was howling down on us and blowing our little RV to and fro. I hated it and told John I just couldn't take it one more minute. Of course, he said, "Cowgirl up, Becky," as he continued down the road.

So, we made it to Capital Reef National Park (the least visited park) and got one of the last campsites at Fruita Campground. It is so cool. This area of the park was a homestead, originally settled by a polygamist and they have preserved much of it. But, the coolest part is that they maintain the fruit trees that the homesteaders planted and people are encouraged to pick the fruit when it is in season

Tomorrow we will continue to explore this park and then end our day in Torrey, which isn't far from here. John made a reservation already, so that’s how we’ll roll. It was in the 70’s today, so I hope it stays with us. You can only run your generator here from 8 – 10 AM and from 6 – 8 PM. So, I imagine it will be an early night. I don’t think we even have a lantern with us.

Tomorrow is also the birth date of my first born daughter Heather. What a glorious day, so much so that I had to name her Noel – song of joy. And she certainly is. Happy 40th Birthday to Heather, such a wonderful person.